08 February 2008

Lenny Henry And Media Racism

"Words like wog, Paki and coon back then, and chav and pikey today, have a profound effect on our communities," he said. Henry hit out at the lack of progress in employing staff from ethnic minority backgrounds off screen, and called on executives to set specific targets and reach out to young people. "To walk on set and find a black DOP or an Asian boom operator is as rare as seeing John McCririck on the front cover of Vanity Fair."

Channel 4 newscaster Jon Snow has also claimed that when black and Asian trainees enter the newsroom they are encouraged to become reporters so they can be seen by viewers. This gives the impression the media employ more people from ethnic minorities than is really the case.